


A Summer of Saturdays

by MrsHalloween2



Category: Ben 10 Series, The Secret Saturdays
Genre: Actual missions, Ben 10: Omniverse, Ben helps, Ben is adorable, But can still kick your ass, Crossover, Cryptids, Cryptozoology, Developing Friendships, Doyle is the cool uncle, Eventual Romance, F/M, How Do I Tag, M/M, Rook Blonko is the best bro, Slow Burn, Some Plot, Summer, Summer Vacation, Touch his human and you die, Zak is having way too much fun this summer, it'll sneak up on you, saturday family bonding, the saturdays are great parents, who is slowly becoming responsible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23854102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsHalloween2/pseuds/MrsHalloween2
Summary: Ben's summer vacation has just started, and he's already bored. Being banned from plumber duties for a month isn't helping either. But relief comes from a chance message with a good friend.Ben's summer might be saved after all
Relationships: Ben Tennyson & Gwen Tennyson, Ben Tennyson & Max Tennyson, Doc Saturday & Drew Saturday & Fiskerton Saturday & Zak Saturday, Doc Saturday & Zak Saturday, Doc Saturday/Drew Saturday, Doyle Blackwell & Doc Saturday & Drew Saturday & Fiskerton Saturday & Zak Saturday, Drew Saturday & Zak Saturday, Kevin Levin & Ben Tennyson, Rook Blonko & Ben Tennyson, Zak Saturday & Ben Tennyson, Zak Saturday/Ben Tennyson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Nice to meet ya, I'm MrsHalloween2. But you guys can call me Hally.  
> This is my first Ben 10 fanfiction. It's also my first crossover, so I am really excited  
> I hope you guy like this story concept, the idea kinda just popped into my head.  
> I'm pretty sad that there aren't that many The Secret Saturdays and Ben 10 crossovers, so I hope mine can help a little on that front.  
> If you notice any errors on my part please feel free to comment, as I don't have a beta I appreciate all the help I can get.  
> I've got some info about the story for you down below but aside from that, let's get the chapter going!  
> _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
> The story takes place in the summer, Ben's sophomore year has just ended. So technically he's a HS junior in this story.  
> As is Zak, his parents homeschool him.  
> Zak still has his powers.  
> You will see Azmuth's name mentioned, quite a bit. He is mentioned in the story normally but I mainly use his name as a replacement for God, not for any particular reason I just liked the idea
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A Summer of Saturday’s 

**Bold Text: Text Messages**

* * *

  
  
  


“You look like you were run over Ben”

“Thanks, Rook, I was going for that _exact_ aesthetic”

Ben groaned out, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Ben flopped onto Rook’s couch, suppressing a screech as his tired muscles jostled painfully. Rook looked at his poor partner, who had been playing guinea pig for their resident Galvan’s the past two hours. 

If it was any other Galvans in the known universe, then the experiments wouldn’t have hurt at all. But, the two Galvans in question were _Blukic and Driba._

So they were _painful_ , to say the least. 

“Rook can I marry your couch?”

Ben asked as he tried to burrow farther into the light grey couch. Ben knew there were exactly two hundred couches like this one in the plumber dorms. But he couldn’t help but think that Rook’s was somehow the softest of them all. He’d tried napping on the one in the common room, but that one was as hard as- you know what bricks were softer.

And _don’t even get Ben started_ on the couch in Grandpa Max’s office. 

(There’s an entire page in the Plumber HQ guidebook dedicated to that cotton abomination )

“That would not be advisable Ben, as the couch is not sentient”

“I _promise_ you, Rook, as long as it brings us joy us Earthlings don’t care about sentience”

Rook stared at him. Ben could tell he's fed up with Earth’s bullshit at this point, and Ben could sympathize. It’d been a long…….

_Long three months._

Criminal activity had gone up, in both the alien community of Bellwood and the human one. It had finally lowered over the last two weeks, allowing both communities to get a breath of fresh air 

But with the decrease in crime…. It meant the plumbers were forced to finally catch up on the less important paperwork. That most of them had pushed to the side. 

(The week it took them to do so, aka _Hades Week_ would later be put in future training booklets. As an example on not skimping on any of your plumber duties)

But it was finally peaceful again, just in time for most schools' summer breaks. Including Ben’s high school. He had done his chemistry final a few days ago, which had drawn his sophomore year to a close. 

_Azmuth be willing_ , he had gotten at least a C on that final. Chemistry was his worst subject. 

“Ben, what are your plans for your summer vacation?”

Rook asked Ben, as he fiddled with the Rubix cube Gwen had given him the last time she was in town. He had managed to complete two sides. 

Ben tilted his head to look at his friend, who was lying on the bed. Rook had recently amassed a collection of stuffed animals. From appreciative alien children and fans. Right now he was using them as pillows to prop him up in a sitting position. 

Considering how serious Rook could be at times, it made the scene _hilarious._

Which made it hard for Ben to answer Rooks’s question without bursting out into laughter.

What _was_ he planning on doing this summer?

He hadn’t had time to think about what he wanted to do. Ben supposed he could play through the new Sumo Slammers game again? Hanging with Gwen and Kevin is off the table. As soon as Gwen’s finals are over they’re both going off-world for vacation. Maybe he could go to the beach? There were a lot of other possibilities to pick from. 

But for some reason, none of them seemed that _appealing_ to Ben this year. 

“Hmmm Im not sure Rook, I guess I haven’t decided yet. Plus school may be out for the summer but plumbing isn’t, so my options are limited”

Ben sighed, knowing any plans he would make would be interrupted. By plumbing work, or an alien invasion. 

Rook began to nod in agreement, but then he paused.

And started doing some math.

“Ben when was the last time you requested vacation time or sick leave?”.

“When I was thirteen and Grandpa Max’s casserole gave me food poisoning, why?”

Rook started adding up the days.

He then subtracted the Earth holidays every Terran plumber had off. Then he remembered that Ben had worked overtime on most of those holidays as well. 

“Ben…. I do believe you are well past due for your union mandated vacation days”

“...... _We have a union_?”

Rook took one look at his small human companion.

( While considering the ethicalities of the Plumbers violating Terran child labor laws) 

And dragged him to Magister Tennyson’s office.

* * *

“Benjamin Tennyson. Unless there is a galactic catastrophe, you are not allowed to _set foot_ in plumber HQ for the next month at least”

Max Tennyson sighed, massaging his temples to try to soothe his new headache.

He looked at his grandson (who seemed to be in a state of shock) and his partner, who looked somewhat smug. Probably because he was right. 

Ben _was_ past due for his vacation days. 

Combining his unused vacation and sick days. Along with his insane amount of overtime, Ben had _three months’ worth of days off._

If Max had known about this before today he would have _forced_ his grandson to get some rest a _lot_ sooner. For some reason though, the database hadn’t flagged Ben’s growing stockpile of days off, as it should have. 

Max doesn’t know if he can prove it, _but he’s sure it’s somehow Blukic and Driba’s fault_.

“While you’re gone we’ll look over the plumber database’s code, and employee records to make sure this won’t happen again”

“Wait, Grandpa! Are you sure it’s okay for me to just take off like that, what if something goes wrong-” 

Ben asked, finally blinking for the first time in three minutes. 

Max raised an eyebrow at Ben. Does his grandson think that he shouldn’t get a vacation because he has the Omnitrix? Sure being the holder of the Omnitrix is a huge responsibility, and it isn’t anything to laugh at but,

Ben’s been doing a pretty good job. A lot more than most adults would under that kind of pressure. 

Sure he’s not as serious as one would expect of a plumber, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard. And he makes jokes, sometimes when he shouldn’t, but he’s sixteen for Azmuth’s sake. 

He deserves to have a break every once in a while.

“Ben, the plumbers are more than capable of handling the usual alien activity. If anything major _does_ happen we can always call Azmuth and have him teleport you back here. And besides, you’ll keep in contact with us, I know you and Rook have that group chat thing with Gwen, Kevin, and Julie”. 

Ben was definitely surprised that Grandpa Max knew what a group chat _was_. The man knew more about alien technology then he did the earth tech. 

“If he does not send weird pictures every four hours then I will inform you to send a search party Magister”

Ben laughed a bit. 

“Memes Rook, they’re called memes.

Ben looked at his grandpa, a question in his eyes. 

‘Okay, I’ll take the time off Grandpa but…. 

“What in the world am I going to do for a month without plumber work? ”

* * *

It turns out the answer was.

Absolutely nothing. 

It’d already been four days since Grandpa had sent him home, and he is _bored out of his damn mind._

Ben had already beat Sumo Slammers, _twice_ on the first day. 

He went to the beach on the second day, and it was _nice_ but in the end, all he got out of that was a nasty sunburn on his shoulders.

On the third day, he tried catching up on some shows he’d been neglecting. That was entertaining for a little while.

But then Rook, _the manga reader_ that he is, had spoiled the ending of Demon Slayers. So Ben spent the rest of the night screaming into his pillow. 

Currently though Ben is lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Contemplating sneaking into the Plumber HQ to find something to do. 

It’s a sad thing when you’re so bored that you want to _go back_ to work. 

Ben sighed, possibly for the _twentieth_ time that day, he was seriously so bored.

Most of his closest friends were either out of town or busy. Rook with work. Julie with tennis camp.Cooper with his new invention. Ester with trade negotiations. And Kev and Gwen had left earth’s atmosphere this morning for vacation. 

Ben did have other great friends but….. Well most of them are literally scattered across the universe.

(In other dimensions too, he hopes Rex is doing okay) 

And he’d never gotten too close with his classmates, they were all nice but…. they were normal.

Ben was the farthest thing from normal. So there wasn’t much they could bond over.

Would it be interesting to start studying Witchcraft? It had worked out pretty well for Gwen…..

Before Ben could contemplate the pros and cons of his latest boredom-induced stupidity. He could hear his phone making a vaguely twinkling sound.

He had a message.

_Oh, thank Azmuth, something exciting._

Ben hopped off his bed and dove under it, looking for the now silent phone. Maybe it was Rook, the last time they spoke, he was working on _“crop circles”_. To see if there was alien activity causing any of them. 

( Only one, and that was the Vreedle Brother’s fault)

Ben could see his phone, the light peeking out from where it had lain against his baby blue wall.

_How did that even happen?_

There wasn’t even that much room between his bed and the wall. His bed _is in the corner_ for Pete’s sake. 

Ben stretched his arm, finally grabbing the phone. At the price of hitting his head on the bed frame, but that was a price Ben was willing to pay. 

He pulled himself and the phone out from under his bed and hopped back on top of it. He could faintly hear the TV, that he turned on for some white noise. Was that _Ghost Adventures_ on? Maybe, but Ben had seen enough spirits in his lifetime so he tuned it out again and focused on his phone. 

He turned it on and quickly saw a message notification from the contact name, **Cthulhu**.

Oh! It’s Zak

**Cthulhu: Hey, dude! It’s been a while**

**How are you doing?**

Ahh man, it _has_ been a long time since they talked. 

The last time he’d called Zak, he was in the middle of a mission in the woods of Estonia. If Ben remembers right. Zak had been trying to help a cryptid, whose home had been destroyed by a construction company. 

How Zak manages to do all this while also doing homeschooling is a mystery to Ben. 

**Hey Zak!**

**It’s been way too long. I was beginning to think Kimodo ate you dude Xo**

**Right now im dying of boredom**

**What about you?**

**Cthulhu: As if man, Id give him indigestion if he tried**

**Im sitting at the ship’s controls. I'm trying to get the tv to hook up to my phone so I can show uncle Doyle what Vine was ( Rest in Peace)**

**What’s got you so bored?**

**If you can believe it, summer vacation**

**Cthulhu:…..Dude**

**H o w ?**

**Well Im banned from doing plumber work**

**So I have nothing to do ;-;**

**Cthulhu: Ben**

**What the hell did you do to get banned from your job**

**(Did you blow something up? And do you have it on video?)**

**I have done nothing wrong in my life, ever**

**Cthulhu: An absolute lie, but proceed**

**Im going to ignore that so I don’t end up** **_kicking_ ** **you**

**But in all honestly, Grandpa banned me from work ( For a month!)**

**Cause I had too many days off piled up**

**And it's union mandated that I use at least _some_ of them**

**Cthulhu:...You guy’s have a union?**

**That was my reaction too!**

**(I am pleasantly surprised at the fact that we have one)**

**Cthulhu: I'm more surprised at the fact that**

**You’ve amassed that much vacation time**

**Like do you even sleep??**

**Or is it just aliens all the time**

**Says the guy who’s life is**

**Constant Cryptids**

**Cthulhu: You right, you right**

**Also, I like the alliteration you did there**

_**Why thank you Zakary** _

**If this boredom drives me to learn embroidery**

**I’ll put it on a pillow for you**

**Cthulhu: _If it comes to that,_ I‘ll come and kidnap you dude**

**Save you from turning your hands into pin cushions**

**_How dare you_ **

**I would be the king of embroidering smart ass sayings on pillows**

Ben smiled at his phone, he’d honestly really missed talking with Zak. They’d become pretty good friends after the whole Chupacabra thing with Dr.Animo and Argost. Zak was a cool dude, who’s life is just as crazy as Ben’s.

(Maybe even crazier, who knows. If they tried too hard to compare lives one of them would be sending _the other_ to therapy)

He just wishes they could talk more than they do, both of them are usually really busy. Zak with his Cryptids, homeschooling, and conservation efforts. And Ben with his plumber work…..

Which he was free from for the next month. _Huh_.

Ben blinked and then blinked again as an idea began to form in his head. 

He could, hypothetically, hang out with Zak on his missions now that he had the time to do so. Ben has been intrigued by the thought of investigating cryptids, ever since he met Zak. And he _did have experience_ with helping endangered species. So Ben wouldn’t be too much of a bother on the Saturday’s missions if they let him come along…..

But how would he get to them? Zak probably isn’t anywhere close to the states at the moment.

…….

It’s not _likely_ , but there’s no harm in asking…

**Hey Zak**

**You wouldn’t happen to be in the states at the moment**

**Would you?**

There! He asked. It’ll probably take Zak a little while to answer back if he’s showing Doyle some Vines.

They’re probably in Thailand or something. And even if he was in the states, Ben’s parents probably-

Actually now that he thinks about it, his mom and dad wouldn’t mind. Ben’s been to other planets and they didn’t care. And that was without adult supervision! Well unless you count Rook as adult supervision.

If Ben went with the Saturdays, he’d be with two and a half adults. ( The half is Doyle. Zak’s told Ben about that man, Ben can’t wait to meet him.) And they have satellite access so Ben would be able to check-in with his parents and grandpa every few days. 

Why is this sounding more and more plausible by the minute?? 

Ben shakes his head back and forth, he really shouldn’t get his hopes up. Not to mention making plans without consulting the people he wants to make plans with is _rude as hell_. He should just put the thought out of his head-

**Cthulhu: I actually am**

**Dude, how’d you know ὸ.ό**

**We just got done checking out this place in Oregon**

**Do you wanna hang out?**

**I can ask mom and dad to swing by Bellwood**

Ben stared at the message, and he tried very hard to remain calm. 

“ _HELL YEAH!_ ”

Yet, he failed miserably. Azmuth he hopes his mom didn’t hear him. 

Ben was practically vibrating on his bed, he was definitely way too excited right now. And he knew this! But he really wanted to do something exciting this summer. Plus the possibility of getting to know one of his friends better was too good to pass up.

So, Ben took a breath in and steeled himself. 

**I didn’t really know bro**

**I was just** **_hoping_ ** **you were**

**I actually wanted to**

**Take you up on that kidnapping offer**

**If that’s okay?**

Okay, he finally did it, now to just wait for Zak’s response. 

**D I N G!**

Oh _wow_ , that was fast.

**Cthulhu: Dude**

**Dude, are you serious?**

_**Cause if you are I will be at Bellwood by seven** _

**Steal you off the sidewalk like one of your aliens**

Ben…. well he started jumping on his bed like he was seven again. Hopefully, Zak was being serious too. Should he start packing? He still needs to tell his mom and dad too. But first.

He should reply to Zak. 

**_They actually don’t do that often_ ** **but I wouldn’t mind if you did!**

**I am serious though**

**Its been so long since we’ve got to hang out, and I’ve got the month off so….**

**If it’s okay with you and your folks, I d like to spend some of it with you guys!**

**Cthulhu: I just asked them ( full puppy dog eyes)**

**Pack your bags, Benjamin**

**We’re coming to steal you in four hours**

**Also, what’s your home phone number?**

**My Mom wants to talk with your mom, get everything set up**

Ben quickly sent his home phone number to Zak, as he raced to the living room.

“MOOOOOOOOOOM!”

Summer vacation was looking fun again!


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's nice to be posting again.  
> Thank you all for the response to this fic, I didn't expect to get any hits.  
> So I was so happy when I saw there were some! Im sending every single one of you virtual hugs.  
> I was so excited to continue the story that I wrote the next chapter super quick. It's a little shorter than the first one, but the third chapter will be longer to make up fo it.
> 
> Once again if I have made any errors of any kind, please feel free to comment. I'm actively reviewing and editing each chapter but sometimes I miss things. 
> 
> That should be all, so let's get to the story <3

A Summer of Saturday’s 

**Bold Text: Text Messages**

* * *

“Zak, _little man_ I think you’re actually vibrating in your seat. _Calm down_.”

Zak stuck his tongue out at his uncle. Doyle had been annoying Zak ever since he told him that they were picking up Ben. Right now, they were only twenty minutes away from Bellwood.

_Which meant that his uncle had been teasing him for three hours._

Someone give Zak the strength not to sick Kimodo on him. 

“You’ve told me about him a little bit, he likes Aliens and smoothy's right?”

Zak looked at his uncle, giving him a little smile. He could tell by his tone of voice that Doyle was done teasing him. 

Zak leaned back in his seat and looked to the right. Seeing the clouds race past the windows, as they got closer to their destination. He and uncle Doyle had moved the Vine viewing to the game room, while they were waiting to get to Bellwood. His parents were using the control room to talk to Ben’s grandpa. Who seemed glad that Ben would be spending his vacation with old work buddies. 

  
  


“Yep. Also, I get why you remembered the aliens. But why’d the smoothy part stick?”

Doyle blinked, as he thought back to when Zak had told him about Ben’s obsession with smoothy’s. It had stuck with him for some reason but….

Oh! He remembers now.

“Well, you said he rebuilt the entire universe and only messed up a smoothy recipe. I _still_ don’t believe that happened by the way.”

Doyle said, pointing at his nephew. One person recreating the entire universe was impossible. _It had to be_.

Although Doyle _had_ seen other things in his life he previously thought were impossible….. 

Okay, he’ll settle on _hoping_ that it was impossible. Because a kid should _not_ have that kind of power. 

Zak tilted his head to the side and replied to his uncle.

“ Oh, that! Yeah, I didn’t believe it either. Until he told me Fisk’s exact DNA makeup. Mine too. 

“You’re… your sure he wasn’t bullshitting you little man??”

“Double-checked it with three DNA tests, He didn’t miss a single phosphate.” 

Doyle stared blankly at his nephew. Why on God’s green earth wasn’t his nephew disturbed by this? Doyle is. And _Doyle has seen some shit._

“Didn’t think teenagers could scare me, but here we are”

Doyle snorted. 

Zak gave him a long look. Should he bring up that time in Russia or? Eh, he shouldn’t.

No need to re-traumatize Uncle Doyle. Zak glanced at his phone. Which had been buzzing the last few seconds?

Oh, Ben had texted him back.

**InvaderBen: I’m finally at HQ**

**Had to fight off mom to get here**

Zak quickly replied, while laughing at the mental image of Ben running from Mrs.Tennyson. 

**Why’d you have to fight her off?**

  
  


**InvaderBen: She was pushing SPF 700 down my T h r o a t**

**I had no** **_choice_ **

**I** **_am_ ** **glad she let me come with you guys though**

**Dude same**

**Sandra’s an actual angel**

**InvaderBen: Mama is n o angel**

**You should hear her when she comes back from PTA meetings**

**That bad?**

**InvaderBen: Bad enough that she buys my silence**

**I’ve made so much money thanks to bake sale season**

**...Dude**

**When you get settled in, you have to tell me the rest of this**

**_Im invested_ **

**InvaderBen: As soon as we are 100 miles away from my house**

**_It’s storytime in-person Saturday_ **

**_Why 100 miles specifically_ **

**InvaderBen: I am n o t taking any chances on her hearing me**

**Im almost to the landing pad, are you guys there?**

Zak blinked down at his phone, he almost replied “not yet” but then he looked out the window. He could see giant doors They were already there?? Where did the last twenty minutes go?

Although Zak isn’t complaining, he’s _glad_ they were finally there!

“Looks like we’re here. Wanna head back to the control room?”

“Hell Yeah”

“ _Language_ little man!”

Zak blinked at his uncle. Since when did he chastise him on his language?? _The man taught him how to say fuck off in five different languages._

“Doyle, _dude”_

Doyle realized what he said, and all he could think was-

“Oh god im turning into _Doc_ ”

Zak cackled all the way to the control room.

* * *

“Are you sure you have everything you need Ben?”

“Yes, Rook.”

“Did you remember to pack that emergency blaster I gave you?”

“ _Yes, Rook_ ”

“What about the emergency rations-”

“ _Rook please you’re mother henning me. More then my own mother did.”_

Ben huffed as Rook narrowed his eyes at him. He appreciated him coming up to send him off, really he did! But he didn’t have _to worry so much._ His parents weren’t. 

He’d told his mom about Zak and his family before, so she kind of knew them. And she had appreciated Mrs.Saturday calling her to discuss things. Such as how long he’d be staying with them. Where they would be going. Where Ben would be sleeping. Essential mom stuff.

So after an hour of that, and ten minutes of puppy dog eyes, she had helped Ben pack. And convince his dad to let him go! 

Although there wasn’t really much of a need for convincing. After his mom explained everything and grandpa had vouched for them over the phone, his dad said yes. 

(At this point, Ben is sure his dad is just happy he’d be exploring _Earth_ this time.) 

He had sent him off with a hug, and a promise to call him every few days. 

His grandpa was _not_ surprised in the least that Ben had found a way to occupy himself. However, he _was_ pleasantly surprised that he’d be adequately supervised while doing so. 

He also sent him off with a hug, although his hug was more of a bear hug then his dad’s had been. 

Ben had also sent a text to the group chat, telling everyone where he was going for the next month. Gwen and Kevin had told him to stay out of trouble. Julie asked him to send some pictures. And Rook….

Well, he ditched a written response entirely and met Ben at door to the landing pad. 

“You planned this trip on very short notice Ben. So there is a high likelihood that you forgot to pack something essential. Such as money, in case you need it in an emergency. Or if you simply desire to buy souvenirs”

Ben looked at his best friend and gestured to his pocket.

“Rook I’ve got my wallet right here, and you _know_ I keep enough paper money on me to buy two weeks worths of smoothy’s.”

“.....I suppose you will have enough money for the month. If you are sure you have everything, then I shall not keep you any longer”

Rook smiled down at his human friend. Quickly gathering him in a hug, as he could distantly hear the Saturday’s ship docking. 

“Stay safe Ben. If you need anything, call me and I shall come.”

Ben sniffled a little as he hugged Rook back tighter, geeze did he have to get so mushy on him? Ben could feel a few _tears_ gathering at the corners of his eyes. He was only going to be gone for a month! But then again they did see each other almost every day so it would be hard…. Ahh, fuck now Ben’s getting mushy too.

(Ben knew he was already mushy, to begin with… _but that doesn’t mean he has to admit it_ )

“I’ll try not to get in any trouble… but if I do I’ll call. ’ll be texting you every day anyway…..”

Ben cleared his throat as he mumbled the last of his sentence. 

“I’ll miss you dude”

Rook smiled, as he ended his and Ben’s hug. He could hear the Saturday’s ship more clearly now, which meant it was time for Ben to go 

“I shall miss you as well. 

* * *

“ BEN, DUDE OVER HERE!”

Ben’s face broke out into a smile as he closed the landing pad door behind him. There they were!

He grabbed the handle of his rolling suitcase and started jogging to the Saturday’s.

He could see Zak and Fiskerton waving at him from the entrance of their ship’s hanger. Zak was noticeably more excited then Fisk. But Ben appreciated Fisk trying, even if the cryptid didn’t exactly like him.

Ben waved back at both of them as he drew closer to the ship.

He could see even from a few feet away that Zak hadn’t changed too-

Wait, wait one damn second. Is he? _He is._

Ben stopped only a few steps from them. Much to Zak’s confusion.

His right eye was twitching.

“ _How_ are you taller than me now!” 

Zak blinked at Ben’s words. He _had_ gotten a growth spurt a month ago. So that was probably what Ben was talking about. But was he really taller than Ben now?

Zak jumped off the hanger door, closing the small distance between him and Ben. He put his hand on top of Ben’s head and brought it back. 

It hit the bottom of his nose. 

He _was_ taller now! If only by a few inches. 

Which means Ben couldn’t call _him_ shorty anymore. Well, that explains why Ben had been pouting the entire time Zak had been comparing their height.

“Upset you gotta look up at me now dude?” 

Zak snickered, putting his hand back on his friend’s head. Ruffling the already messy hair further. 

Ben squawked as Zak tried to turn his hair into a crow’s nest. His hands flew to his hair, trying to protect the curls. 

“Zak, Dude hands off the hair!”

Zak chuckled as he finally took his hand out of the brunette’s hair. It was softer then Zak thought it would be. 

“Not like I could make it messier, you ever tried straightening it?”

Ben stuck his tongue out at him.

“Gwen’s tried, doesn’t work on me...Now bring it in you jerk.”

Ben opened his arms. Gesturing for Zak to hug him already. 

Zak’s face broke into a blinding smile. As he walked into the hug. 

He squeezed Ben’s back, as he felt the other patting his. This was the first time they’d hugged each other. Since their friendship had grown through phone screens and video calls. 

Zak and Francis also had the same type of long-distance friendship. But Francis _would actually_ shoot him if he tried to hug him at their meetups. 

Ben started to retreat from the hug when Zak suddenly got an idea. His face broke into a smirk at the thought.

“It’s good to see you man, where’s the rest of yo-what are you doing?”

Zak cackled a bit.

As he used the hug to lift Ben off his feet.

“NO. NO. _HELL NO_ . PUT ME DOWN, ZAKARY I SWEAR TO _AZMUTH_ ” 

Zak’s cackled louder, the sound reverberating through the landing pad. Briefly disturbing the plumbers working.

He quickly readjusted Ben, hoisting him up partly on his right shoulder. Ben squawked again, grabbing Zak’s left shoulder for support. Ben wasn’t really that heavy. 

‘Sorry dude, can’t! I _promised_ to kidnap you ”

Zak said as he started running back to the hanger, his friend still holding on for dear life

“EVIL, YOU ARE AN _EVIL_ LITTLE MAN”

“Taller than you!”

“YOUR THREE INCHES CAN KISS MY-”

“Little man, what’s with the potato sack treatment?”

Zak came to a halt at the Hanger doorway at the sound of his uncle’s voice. Ben’s protests also died down, as he took in his surroundings.

(Now that he wasn’t being charted around like a bag of cement mix)

Doyle was standing next to Fisk. Who was busy laughing into his hands. 

Doyle’s face was full of mirth. He looked seconds away from joining his cryptid nephew. 

“It’s the best way to kidnap him”

Zak stated, his face completely serious. But Doyle could see the laughter in his nephew’s orange eyes. 

‘.....You do know the fireman carry exists for a reason, right?”

“For the love of the universe, _don’t give him any more ideas_.”

Ben groaned, from his position in Zak’s arms. The older boy _still_ hadn’t put him down. He shot Doyle a pleading look.

Doyle snorted at the green puppy dog eyes. He felt stupid for being scared of the little guy. Even if he did have a galactic superweapon strapped to his wrist. He was just a teenager. The way he and his nephew interacted proved that.

“You should put him down, little man. Sis is done talking to the landing crew so we’re ready to roll” 

Zak’s and Ben both perked up at the news.

“That’s great! Ben, you wait here I’ll go get your suitcase.”

Zak blurted, as he gently lowered Ben back down.

Ben released his death grip on Zak’s shoulder pad as his feet finally touched the floor.

“Thanks, dude.”

Zak gave him a salute, as he walked back to where Ben’s suitcase sat. 

Ben turned to Doyle. Bringing his arm up for a handshake.

“Hi, im Ben. You’re Doyle right?”

Doyle gave Ben one of his signature smirks. 

“Yep, nice to finally meet you kid.”

He shook the teen’s hand. Getting a glimpse of the Omnitrix as he did. It looked like some complicated tech.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Zak’s told me a lot about you…..You wanna help me get back at Zak for picking me up like a rag doll?”

Doyle’s smirk turned into a full demented grin.

“I like you already kid” 

  
  



	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's nice to see you guys again.  
> I hope you've liked the last two chapters.  
> I love writing this. Honestly, it's given me something to do that I enjoy.  
> I guess that's why I cranked out the third chapter so fast.  
> Anyways, thank you so much again for reading. Im sending everyone virtual hugs.  
> I hope you like the new chapter!  
> As always If you see any issues, errors, or anything of the like feel free to comment.  
> you can even comment on any tags I should add, I probably missed a few.  
> Well, that's all, so lets head to the story!

A Summer of Saturday’s 

* * *

“Dude im so excited, I can’t wait to show you more about Cryptids” 

Zak beamed at Ben. The four of them had left the hanger and were making their way to the control room. 

The ship was humming under their feet, it was almost ready for take-off. Which meant his parents were waiting to make sure Ben was on board before they left the landing pad. 

Ben turned to his friend, a smile on his face.

“Im excited too. I’ve got so many questions, like is the Jersey Devil real? And do I have to worry about it?”

“Jer is _very_ real. But you don’t have to worry about him, he’s super chill”

Ben looked at Zak, a little incredulous.

“Okay, first, thank Azmuth. Second is there only one Jersey Devil? Third does that mean he’s all alone? Cause if so Im hugging him when I get home.”

Zak chuckled at the last bit. That was kind of sweet, most people wouldn’t want to hug a cryptid.

But then again Ben wasn’t most people. 

“Yeah, Jer’s the only one left. There used to be more, but in the 19th century, almost all of them were wiped out. Mostly due to New Jersey’s growing pollution and overpopulation. Although some of them _were_ hunted-Ben are you crying?”

“No! Im just… im sad on behalf of my local cryptid, okay!”

Ben huffed, turning his face so Zak wouldn’t see the slight redness of his eyes. He honestly felt bad for the cryptid. He’s met aliens who were the last of their species. And they were always terribly lonely…..

Ah fuck, he wants to hug it. 

Zak put his hand on Ben’s shoulder, patting it consolingly.

“It’s okay Ben. The core of endangered species conservation is caring. I’ll ask Jer if he wants a hug when we come back to Bellwood”

“Thanks, dude. Isn’t it gonna be hard to find him though?”

“Nah, he hangs out in New Jersey’s swamps. And there’s only eight in the state.”

Ben gave Zak a bright smile. Man, he was glad to be able to talk to him in person.

“We’re here little dudes. You should stop planning your Jersey project before we head in. If you don’t Doc will give you a lecture. On “ _The importance of maintaining a safe distance from the more notorious cryptids_ ” 

Doyle cautioned as the four of them reached the control room door. Close enough to see it but not close enough to have it open automatically. 

“Wow that sentence was word for word…...what famous Cryptid did you get too close to?

Ben asked. Hoping- 

“........Mothman”

-It was Mothman! That’s it, Ben’s planning a trip to Virginia.

Zak and Fiskerton snickered as they were reminded of Doyle’s hunt for Mothman. He had been a mile away from the cryptids nest before Doc had caught him in a net. He ended up dragging Doyle back to the airship. 

“Keep laughing you two. While you’re doing that I’ll tell Benji here about your time in Australia”

Ben blinked, did he call him _Benji?_

Meanwhile, Zak and Fiskerton vigorously shook their heads at their uncle. Begging him not to tell Ben about their time in the land down under. It had been an embarrassment for all of the Saturday’s children.

“That’s what I thought. Now, let’s go tell your folks we picked up Ben so we can take off."

* * *

  
  


“There you are. I was about to send Komodo to find you”

Doc said, turning his head toward them. He was currently seated in one of the two control chairs. His hand was still on the monitor.

Drew was in the other control chair, smiling at them. Her white hair was down at the moment. Framing her face. 

“Hello Ben, it’s nice to see you again.”

Ben looked at them both. He had gotten to know them more through Zak. He thought they were both pretty amazing. So he hoped he would make a better impression then he did the first time.

“Im glad to see you and Mr.Saturday too. Thank you for letting me stay with you.”

Ben gave them a lopsided smile, although his eyes shone with gratitude.

“You’re very welcome Ben. We were all excited when Zak told us you wanted to spend the month helping us with our missions.”

“Zon especially.”

Doc interjected, using his thumb to point to the corner. Where the Pterosaur lied asleep. In what looked to be like a miniature nest.

Ben’s head swiveled to the corner. He gave a small gasp. 

Zon’s little nest had a Ben 10 doll in it. It was a tiny thing. The size of a Beanie Baby. It was a little crude, but it was adorable.

“ _Where_ did she get a little me?? Oh my, Azmuth can I pet her?”

Ben squeaked, tugging on Zak’s armor. While using his other hand to point towards Zon. 

Zak looked closer at Zon’s nest, and yep there it was. A small doll of Ben, sorta. It was a peach felt doll with brown hair and green eyes painted on it. There was even a painted Omnitrix on the doll’s wrist.

“Who made that for her?”

Drew smirked at her brother. Who was standing as straight as a board? 

Zak, Ben, and Fisk all followed Drew’s line of sight. Causing Doyle’s shoulders to hunch. His face a bright red. 

Ben gave the man a thumbs up. While Zak and fisk fell over each other cackling.

“Love the doll Mr.Doyle”

“ _For the love of God don’t call me Mister._ ALSO, YOU TWO STOP CACKLING LIKE HYENAS. I WILL DISOWN YOU BOTH! THE LIZARD WILL BE MY ONLY NEPHEW.”

Fisk and Zak’s laughter grew louder, mixing with Doyle’s shouting. It was a disturbing mix. That sounded like it deserved to be the theme song to Argost’s old TV show. 

Doc and Drew both gave Ben a _“what can you do”_ look at the scene. 

Ben just smiled back at them. 

He was gonna like it here

* * *

  
  


“Your room is right here. It’s across from mine. The rooms get a little cold since we’re usually in the air, so I nabbed you some blankets from the storage closet” 

Zak explained as he and Ben stood at the door. 

His parents had finally flown the airship out of the Plumber HQ. After he and Fisk had stopped laughing. 

A few minutes after they hit the clouds. They asked him to show Ben where he’d be sleeping, so he could put his luggage up.

Zak jumped at the opportunity, partly to escape his uncle Doyle. Who looked ready to throw him and Fisk out the window.

Ben opened the door and rolled his luggage inside 

“Thanks, dude. I appreciate it. Im glad we’re across from each other, I don’t have to walk far if we have a scary movie- is that Komodo on the bed?” 

Zak looked past Ben to the bed. 

His brother was lounging on Ben’s bed. So that’s where he’s been the last hour.

“Yeah, he must have snuck in while I was putting the blankets in there. Wanna hang in my room till he goes looking for food?”

Ben put his luggage against the wall while keeping an eye on the lizard. The last time they’d met he hadn’t exactly…..liked him. 

“Sure! You still wanna hear about my mom’s hatred of the PTA?”

“ _Please”_

* * *

  
  


“So last year they were holding a bake sale for the Drama Department. And they deserved one, cause Drama hardly gets _any_ money from the state. Most of the parent’s running booths have kids in the Drama club, and they’re like really nice. They bring a lot of food and are very sweet.

But three parents don’t. They are the ones who try to run the PTA like a dictatorial monarchy.”

Ben explained, from his place on Zak’s bed.

They had both settled in Zak’s room, after leaving Komodo in Ben’s. Ben had flopped on Zak’s bed. While Zak sat at the computer chair, he was sitting in it backward. So he could face Ben while he told the story. 

“Question, how do you run a dictatorial monarchy PTA?”

Zak asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“By bragging that your parents and grandparents were head of their PTA’s. Or Superintendents. While making up ridiculous policies for the entire group. The three who do this are Kimmy, Becky, and James”

Zak blinked at Ben, another question on the tip of his tongue. 

“Why doesn’t the president of the PTA stop them?”

“Cause Becky pays her Starbucks tab every month.”

“ _Fuck that’s dirty_ ”

Zak gasped leaning forward in his seat. This was getting good.

“I know right? So as I was saying the Drama Club Bake Sale was set up to happen on Saturday. Becky, Kimmy, and James call up my mom to make Ginger snap cookies. _That Morning._

_“_ Okay, _no_. That is too short a notice!”

“That’s what my mom said too. But Becky and Kimmy started whining that mom’s ginger cookies were the best in the PTA, and they had to have them. Basically kissing my mom’s ass. 

“Pfft!”

Zak snorted, his shoulders shaking from laughter. 

“Mom was five seconds from saying no, cause she was scheduled to do the Soccer Team Raffle on Monday. She wasn’t even supposed to be doing the Bake Sale. But then James added the PTA president to the call.”

“NO!”

Zak’s face was one of pure disbelief. Were all highschool PTA’s like this? He feels lucky that his parents were teaching him. His mom and dad would hate this. 

“Yes! And as soon as the call connected, he started bragging about _how kind it was of my mom to make her cookies. How she was such a hard worker for doing both the bake sale and the raffle. How the president should rely on her more often_. Making it impossible for mom to say no”

“James can meet me in the pit, _how dare he do Sandra that way_ ”

“My mom would love you for it, honestly. But to the end of the story. So my mom grits her teeth and says _I’ll be there by 12:30._ That’s when I wake up at seven AM. To my mom screaming fuck in the middle of the kitchen. 

Ben explained, using his hands to emphasize just how big a deal this was. His mom hardly ever cursed. She thought it was a bit crude. Ben only learned about the worse ones after Kevin started hanging around more. 

“Christ, they made Sandra curse?”

“Yeah, that’s how awful they are. So I run into the kitchen, ready to go Humungousaur on whoever hurt my mama. And I just see her there dragging out ingredients, while cursing the day James was born. I ended up helping her make the four dozen Ginger Snap cookies before my patrol. And I shit you not, you she told me so much gossip about those three out of pure hatred alone.”

“Dude you have to tell me the gossip, please _im begging you_. I don’t get this quality drama while homeschooling, _unless_ you count Doyle’s love life.”

Zak begged, his hands clasped in a prayer position

Ben tilted his head and thought it over.

“...I’ll trade the gossip for Doyle’s love life.”

“Deal!”

Zak got out of the compute chair. Repositioning himself on his bed alongside Ben. So he could hear the story better.

“Blessed be. So what I Found out was that James was having an affair with the woman who ran the Bakery down the street. 

“That bastard!”

“I know right? So my mom tells me she was ready to tell his wife. But then Sarah, my mom’s friend. Told her that his wife, Carrie, already knew. She was just waiting two years to divorce him”

“Why two years?” 

Ben smirked at Zak.

“Cause that’s when the prenup he made her sign expires”

Zak’s eyes widened. That meant she could take at least half of James’ money. What an icon. 

“Wives scorned come back with baseball bats, I love that for her” 

Ben and Zak both laughed at that mental image. James deserved it though, not gonna lie. 

“So does her daughter, I think Jessy is counting down the day’s with the calendar .”

“ _Dude, how do you know that?_ ”

Zak asked, his left eyebrow raised. 

“Well she runs a really cool blog, half the Juniors and Seniors follow her. I think her homeroom is planning vengeance on her behalf.”

“Good for her. Bro This is wild”

Should Zak be taking notes? He’s probably going to hear more about this, and he doesn’t want to get anything mixed up. 

“True, Im honestly so upset I didn’t find out about it before the bake sale fiasco. You still wanna hear the drama with Kimmy and Becky?”

“ Do you not see me sitting on the edge of my seat here? Yes, please. Im loving this-”

“Do I wanna know what you two are talking about?”

“SHIT!”

Ben and Zak both shrieked. As they jumped out of their skin at the sound of Doyle’s voice.

Zak almost fell off the bed, but Ben caught his arm at the last second and pulled him back. 

Did he have to sneak up on them? He could have knocked! 

Doyle chuckled at the twin glares he got from the boys. He hadn’t _meant_ to sneak up on them, he guessed they just didn’t hear his knock. Oh well, It was funny to see them overreact.

But he came here for a reason, so he should probably tell them. 

  
  


“Chill the death stares you two, I came to tell you that dinner’s done.”

  
  



End file.
